Annealing furnace



Jan. 22, 1929.

A. FUCHS ANNEALING FURNACE Filed May 15, 1926 INVENTOR Auqusf Fuc/LSWITNESSES:

A'IZTORNEY .40 and contour of the annealing chamber 11 Patented Jan. 22,1229..

AUGUST FUCHS, F BEBLIN SIEMENSSTAID ELECTRIC & A MANUFACTURING COMPANY,A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

1,699,784 ATEN'T oFicE;

T, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTINGHOUSE AN NEALIN G- FURNACE.

Application filed May 15, 1926, Serial, No. 103,414, and in Germany June26,1925.

My invention relates to furnaces, and par ticularly to anean -gfurnaces.

vide an annealing furnace embodying a single annealing chamber and aplurality of removable hoods constituting cooling chambers to besuccessively operatively associated therewith. g y

Another object of my invention is to provide-means for moving thematerial from the relatively to each other.

annealing chamber. into the cooling chamber and for efiecting cl asureof the two chambers In practicing my invention, Iprovide aheat-insulating annealing chamber and a surelatively to each other andtothe outer a1r.

' material located therein may be moved away e charge is-placed in. theannealing chamber to be heat treated. 1

perposed cooling chamber that is removable therefrom. Amaterial-supporting means is provided that isefi ective to move theannealed material from the annealing chamber into the cooling chamber.Sealing means are provided to eitect sealing of the two chambers Theclosed cooling chamber and the annealed from the annealing chamberstructure to per mit of the material being cooled, while a new Thesingle figure of the drawing illustrates "a device embodying myinvention, shown in vertical section.

An annealing chamber 11 may be located below the level of afioor,'indicated by floor f plates 12, and is surrounded by suitableheatthe shape insulating refractory material, indicated gen.- erally bythe numeral 13. The dimensions may be of any suitable or desired kindand will more particularly be in accordance with andthe amount of thematerial to be annealed or otherwise heat treated at any one time.

The upper portion of the annealing chamber 11 may have located therein acasing oreontainerl iwhich may be considered to constitute a mufiileplate, electric heating means 15 being located between the casingllandthe wall 13, suitable connections (not shown) being provided to permitof energizing the heating means.

A material-supporting means located withwhich may be either .wardly anddownwardly by means annealing operation in the annealing chamber 11comprises a platform 16 which may be of any type usually employed in theart, upon which there is located a central member 170i conical shape, ofa highly refractory metal or of ceramic material, around which bundlesof wire 18 which are to be annealed in the particular furnaceillustrated and described, may be located. e The member 16 is supportedon a car structure 19 comprising a suitableplatform and wheels, spacingblocks 21 being provided between the platform of the truck19 and thesupporting member mission of excessive heat from the upper por-. tion ofthe annealing chamber 11 to the material supporting and moving meansnormally located in the lower part of the chamber, which, as shown inthe drawing, is not provided with heating elements.

mounted on a head 23 that is mounted on a piston 24,which is movablevertically upnot shown but well understood in the art. A closure plate25 is provided atthe bottom of the lower portion of the annealingchamber 11 to The truck 19 is located on rails 22 that are 16 toprevent-the transseparate'the annealing chamber 11 from thehead-operating chamber 26.

A cooling chamber 27 is located immediate- 1y above the annealingchamber 11 during the e of the furnace and is constituted by a casingtion of which may be of relatively thin material only,

while the lower annular or pcor hood 28, the upper porripheral portionthereof is surrounded by a heat-insulating layer 29 of material suitablysecured thereto and movable therewith. The lower edge or rim of the hoodmember 28 fits into a member-31, of channel form in lateral section,which is filled withsand 32'or some other means co-operating with thelower rim of the hood member 28 to constitute a sand seal or, ingeneral, a means for sealing the hood against the entrance of air intothe chambersll and 27 The member 31 may be supported by metal inserts 33of any desired shape embedded in the refractory material 13.

A guide member 34 in the shape of a depending rod has its upper endsecured to aholding member 35 which is riveted or bolted to the topportion of the hood 28. A corresponding opening 36 extends centrally andlongitudinallythrough the member 17 so that when the;material-supporting means, and the the lower rim 37 may be, and

material located thereon are moved upwardly, the'member 34 will enterthe opening 36 and guide the members.

During the annealing operation, the material is located in shown in thedrawing within the annealing chamber 11 and therefore the lower portionof the cooling chamber under the hood 28 is in communication with theannealing chamber 11. A refractory plate 37, that is located within thehood 28, is normally supported an annular member 38 which is suitablysecured to the metallic hood 28. The member preferably is,

of refractory heat-insulating material and, when located in the positionshown in the drawing, it sepa rates the annealing chamber from thecooling chamber 27 within the hood member 28.

As it may be desirable-to efiect annealing and cooling in either anatmosphere of inert gas or ot-a reducing gas, a conduit 39 is secured tothe hood member 28 at the upper portion thereof and is connected by afiexible conduit (not shown) to such gas, a valve member '41 beingprovide to regulate the admission of the gas.

If it be assumed that the material has been properly annealed and thatit is desired to remove the same from'the annealing chamber 11 and topermit of its cooling slowly within or under the hood 28, thematerial-supporting means is caused to move upwardl until the partsoccupy the positions indicated by the broken lines, the material 18being located within the upper portion of the cooling chamber 27. Inthis position an annular member 42 of OhaIIDGIf-ShEPG in lateralsection, mounted on the support 16-, engages adepending flange portion43 integral with the annular member 38 heretofore described, therebyeffecting a c osure of the cooling chamber 27.

An annular member 44, of channel section, is operatively. associatedwith the head 22 and enga es the depending flange portion of an annu armember 45 located within the member 31. The members 42 and 44 are filledwith a suitable sealing material, such as sand,

to effect an air-tight ]oint.

When the member 45 engages or fits into the member 44, the annealingchamber will also be sealed airtight relatively to the cooling chamber27.

Short rail sections 46 and 47 are then placed in proper operativeposition between fixed rails 48 and 49 located on the floor members 12,so that it is possible to move the hood 28, the truck 19'and thematerial located thereon which has just been annealed, away'from theposition indicated in the drawing. To permit this movement, the relativedimensions and locations of the partshereinbetore described are suchthat the hood member is raised vertically upwardly to such extent thatrtion of the'hood 28 is disenfrom t e sand 32 in the member 31,

whereby it is possible to move the hood 28,

substantially the position a source of supply of the truck 19, thematerial-supporting'members located thereon, and any material supportedthereby, away from the furnace structure in either directionon the rails48 or 49.

It may be noted that when the hood 28 and any material and the trucklocated therein is moved away from the rest or the furnace structure,both the annealing chamber and the cooling chamber are sealed againstthe admission of air from the outside.

A plurality of trucks 19 and material-supporting means located thereonis provided and as soon as one hood and a truck located thereunder hasbeen removed, another hood and truck located thereunder and piled withmaterial to be proper operative position substantially as shown in thedrawing, the material-raising heat-treated may be moved in means may bepermitted to lower the material 1 and truck into the position shown bythe full lines in the drawing, after which another annealin operationmay be immediately efiected. T ese exchanges of trucks may be madequickly so that but little heat will be lost from the heated structuresurrounding the annealing chamber, thereby efiecting the annealingoperation at a relatively high thermal efliciency. The heat insulatingmeans 29 prevents loss of heat from the upper part of the material 18and from the annealing chamber during the annealing or heat treatingoperation.

The number of hoods '28 and trucksthat must be rovided will be inproportion to the length 0 time of annealing in com arison to the lengthof time of cooling. It 1s obvious that a relatively short time of arelatively long time of coolin will require a much lar er number of hoos and trucks than would the case if the time of cooling were relativelyshort.

The device and method embodying my invention thus provide a relativelsimple method of, and means for, effecting intermittent annealingoperations in a substanannealing and in a reducing atmosphere, removingthe heattreated material from the annealing chamber immediately uponcompletion of the heattreatin cycle and maintainin it in a substantia yclosed chamber cycle of any desired kind.

Various modifications may be made in the device and method embodying myinvention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and Idesire that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are imposedby the rior art.

I claim as myinvention: 1. An annea ing furnace assembly comrising asubstantially fixed annealing chamer, a laterally removable cooling hoodlocated above the annealing chamber, means in into said during a coolinghood, and means associated with the support ing means for eifectingclosure ofthe two chambers relatively to each other and to raise saidcooling hood out of cooperation with said chamber, when the supportingmeans has been moved into its raised position.

2. An annealing. furnace comprising a plurality of walls defining anannealing chamber, a superposed cooling hood closing said chamber,material supporting means in the annealing chamber, and means projectingthrough the bottom of said chamber for raising said supporting meansinto the cooling hood for eflfecting closure of the said two chamberswhen in the upper limiting position, and for raising the hood of thecooling chamber from its normal operative en agement with the walls ofthe annealing ciamber.

3. In an annealing furnace the combination with an'annealing chamber anda removable hood supported above said chamber scribed my name this andnormally effecting the closure thereof, of means within the chamber forcarrying material to be annealed, and means also within said chamber forraising said hood out of cooperation with said chamber, therebypermitting the lateral removal of said hood and material carrying means.

'4. In an annealing furnace, the combination with an open-top annealingchamber and a cooling hood operatively closing the open top thereof, ofa movable material supportin chamber during the annea ing operation,andmeans within said chamber operative to move said material support intosaid hood, to disengage said hood from said chamber and to .close thetop of said chamber, thereby permitting the lateral removal of said hoodand material supporting means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto sub- 21st day of April, 1921.AUGUST FUCHS.

means adapted to be supported within said

